Short Interest in Hilltop Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HTH) Declines By 5.4%

Hilltop Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HTH) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 723,700 shares, a drop of 5.4% from the March 15th total of 764,900 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 311,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.3 days. Approximately 1.6% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Hill A. Feinberg sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.63, for a total transaction of $94,890.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 13,776 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $435,734.88. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Martin Bradley Winges sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.83, for a total transaction of $924,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 98,934 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,050,135.22. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Hill A. Feinberg sold 3,000 shares of Hilltop stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.63, for a total value of $94,890.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 13,776 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $435,734.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 28.90% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hilltop

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio grew its position in shares of Hilltop by 12.4% during the third quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 3,860 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $96,000 after buying an additional 425 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its stake in Hilltop by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 64,239 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,928,000 after purchasing an additional 432 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in Hilltop by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 107,313 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,778,000 after purchasing an additional 432 shares during the last quarter. Teza Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Hilltop by 5.2% during the third quarter. Teza Capital Management LLC now owns 9,114 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $258,000 after purchasing an additional 449 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its stake in Hilltop by 31.5% during the first quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,888 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 452 shares during the last quarter. 57.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on HTH. TheStreet downgraded Hilltop from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Raymond James raised Hilltop from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 5th.

Hilltop Price Performance

NYSE HTH opened at $28.65 on Thursday. Hilltop has a 1-year low of $26.78 and a 1-year high of $35.66. The company has a market cap of $1.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.95 and a beta of 1.12. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $30.59 and a two-hundred day moving average of $30.96.

Hilltop (NYSE:HTH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 26th. The financial services provider reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.04. Hilltop had a return on equity of 5.20% and a net margin of 7.00%. The business had revenue of $290.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $296.89 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.39 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Hilltop will post 1.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hilltop Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 12th were given a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 9th. This is an increase from Hilltop’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.37%. Hilltop’s payout ratio is currently 40.24%.

Hilltop Company Profile

Hilltop Holdings Inc provides business and consumer banking services. It operates through three segments: Banking, Broker-Dealer, and Mortgage Origination. The Banking segment offers savings, checking, interest-bearing checking, and money market accounts; certificates of deposit; lines and letters of credit, home improvement and equity loans, loans for purchasing and carrying securities, term, agricultural and commercial real estate, equipment loans, and other lending products; and mortgage, commercial and industrial loans, and term and construction finance.